Yeah, it’s a longshot.
But according to Math Professor Tim Chartier, there are some small actions that tip those long odds (slightly) in your favor.
How unlikely is it to win a lottery like Mega Millions or Powerball?
One way to visualize it: It’s equivalent to flipping heads on a coin 28 times in a row.
Another way to think about it: This is akin to my looking back at the past nine years, picking one second, and then asking you to guess which second I chose. The odds that you’ll get it right are incredibly long.
Does buying more tickets increase your odds?
Yes. If you buy five tickets with different numbers, you are five times more likely to win than buying just one. But, keep in mind, this is like saying you need to flip heads 28 straight times. Try it. In fact, try it five times. Try it 100 times. You are amazingly unlikely to get it any single time. So, the odds are more likely but still very unlikely.
Here is an app that lets you simulate flipping a coin 28 times. (Note, you need to select ‘Number’ to be 28.). You could do this yourself with 28 coins–toss them and see!
You are almost 300 times more likely to get hit by lightning in your lifetime than win Mega Millions. If you bought 300 tickets, only then would you have the same chances as getting hit by lightning in your lifetime.
Why don’t lotteries like Mega Millions and Powerball produce winners more frequently?
We will get a winner at some point, which is the exciting part. But, there is some math behind the growing jackpot.
First, people can pick numbers–and they tend to pick numbers from a similar range. People frequently pick birthdays and ages, which makes lower numbers more common.
Second, while someone will win, it simply can take time given how unlikely it is. The odds are made high enough to make the game compelling and get winners JUST enough that we have hope in the improbable and, frankly, it makes it fun.
When the jackpot is this high what should we think about?
Any time you play a lottery like Mega Millions or Powerball, the odds of winning stay the same. But, there are ways that you can make it more probable that you win ALL the money.
In particular, pick random numbers. If you pick your favorite number or the day of your birthday like the 7th, which is the day of the next drawing, many people can be doing the same and that puts a lot of numbers between 1 and 31. Picking your own numbers doesn’t change the odds of winning. But, picking random numbers does increase the odds that if you win, no one else wins.
Should we stay away from numbers that were in the last drawing?
The balls are random so there is a very slim chance that a number will repeat–in the neighborhood of 3 or 4%. But, don’t forget: You have the same chance that any other ball is chosen, too.
FAQs
In particular, pick random numbers. If you pick your favorite number or the day of your birthday like the 7th, which is the day of the next drawing, many people can be doing the same and that puts a lot of numbers between 1 and 31. Picking your own numbers doesn't change the odds of winning.
What is the best way to increase odds of winning Powerball? ›
To better your chances of winning any lottery, you have to buy more tickets, he said. The more tickets, the more chances of choosing the right combination of numbers.
What is the trick to win Powerball? ›
Experts suggest that you should add up the five numbers you pick and try to stay within a target range. The preferred range is between 140 and 240 after your five number are added together. More than half of the winning number combinations fall in that range.
Is there a mathematical formula to predict lottery numbers? ›
If the order of the lottery number matters, then each lottery number is called a permutation of numbers, and the formula we use to calculate the probability of winning the lottery is as follows: a n P r , where nPr is the number of permutations possible of the lottery number, and. ( n − r ) ! .
What number is most likely to win the lottery? ›
A new study reveals the lottery numbers you should play to win big: The number 28 is drawn most often across all lotteries, with an average frequency of 201.4.
Is there a strategy for lottery? ›
Aside from purchasing multiple lottery tickets with different number combinations, there is no way to increase your chance of winning the lottery with one ticket, Clotfelter said. However, it can help to let the computer pick your numbers instead of choosing them yourself.
Who won the lottery 14 times? ›
The question is, how on earth did he do it? Well, according to Stefan Mandel, it wasn't even that hard - the Romanian-Australian economist putting it down to 'simple math'. With the help of a group of investors and a syndicate called the International Lotto Fund, Mandel targeted 14 lotteries around the world.
Do more people win Powerball by picking their own numbers? ›
"There is a common misconception that the odds of winning differ depending on whether you choose your own numbers or go for a Quick Pick," Powerball.net reports. "That is not true; your chances of winning are exactly the same in both cases."
Is there a pattern to Powerball numbers? ›
There is no wrong way to choose Powerball numbers. There's also no magic formula to pick the winning numbers. But ... we went back and looked at the winning numbers for every drawing since the jackpot started at $20 million in April. We didn't find a particular pattern.
What are the 6 luckiest numbers in the lottery? ›
The most frequently drawn winning numbers from the main barrel are 17, 7, 11, 2, 3 and 9, while the least frequently drawn are 33, 15, 34, 31, 26 and 1. The most frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 19 and 2, while the least frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 14 and 16.
Is there a better day of the week or time of day that increases the probability of winning? Because the lottery is a game of chance, every ticket has an equal opportunity to be the winning ticket. This means there really isn't a luckiest time to buy lottery tickets.
What are the 6 luckiest numbers in Lotto? ›
The most frequently drawn winning numbers from the main barrel are 17, 7, 11, 2, 3 and 9, while the least frequently drawn are 33, 15, 34, 31, 26 and 1.
Is it better to choose your lottery numbers or quick pick? ›
The winning numbers are randomly drawn, meaning that ANY set of numbers has EXACTLY the same chance of winning as any other. There exists no advantage either way. It is true that most winners used quick picks, but this is because the vast majority of tickets sold are quick picks.
Is there a strategy to picking Mega Millions numbers? ›
According to Mark Glickman, a senior statistics lecturer at Harvard University, another tip to win the jackpot is to choose completely random numbers without patterns of any sort. “No birthdays that have special meaning to you because other people are likely to make those same picks,” he told CBS News.
